Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2012MA347B

Elucidating the impact of upgrading wastewater treatment for nitrogen removal on eutrophication and toxic algal bloom in Long Island Sound

Institute: Massachusetts
Year Established: 2012 Start Date: 2012-03-01 End Date: 2013-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $10,249

Principal Investigators: Chul Park

Project Summary: Despite the significant efforts to reduce nitrogen discharge from wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs), the Long Island Sound (LIS) area affected by hypoxia actually increased over the last decade. Our preliminary research has suggested that WWTFs utilizing the biological nitrogen removal (BNR) process may actually increase particular forms of N that are more potent for algal bloom in LIS. We propose a research plan to evaluate the true impact of upgrading WWTF for N removal (i.e., BNR) on receiving water eutrophication and toxic algal bloom.